Louise Slaughter responds on tax rules

House Rules Chairwoman Louise Slaughter says she hopes the GOP will embrace middle class tax cuts in a letter sent to committee Republicans Wednesday.

Replying to the GOP's request for a more open amendment process on upcoming legislation extending lower income tax rates that would otherwise go up at the end of the year, the New York Democrat noted Minority Leader John Boehner's concession on Sunday that he would — if forced into an up-or-down vote — choose to support a bill cutting taxes for most, but not all, taxpayers.

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"Mr. Boehner's statement suggests that it may be possible to find bipartisan common ground — I hope that more of your colleagues in the Republican Conference will join Mr. Boehner in expressing support for these middle class tax cuts," Slaughter wrote.

Boehner and his Republican Conference uniformly support extending lower tax rates for all earners, not just couples who make less than $250,000 a year.

Earlier this week, Republican members of the committee sent Slaughter a letter asking her to allow them the opportunity to amend legislation extending the current rates for the lower 97 percent of taxpayers.

Often, under both parties' leadership, tax bills have come to the floor without opportunity for amendment. Slaughter makes that call in consultation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

President Barack Obama and Pelosi want to let the rates expire for couples over the $250,000 threshold while holding harmless folks below that level. But the issue has divided Democrats, with some in politically vulnerable districts preferring not to raise taxes on any of their constituents so close to the election and during a time of economic hardship.

Right now, extending current rates for all taxpayers — at least temporarily — is the only position with significant support in both parties. A group of moderate Democrats has been working on a letter to Pelosi asking her to keep the rates in place for everyone.

Readers' Comments (8)

"Right now, extending current rates for all taxpayers — at least temporarily — is the only position with significant support in both parties. A group of moderate Democrats has been working on a letter to Pelosi asking her to keep the rates in place for everyone"

Anything other than extending tax cuts for everyone in this country is nothing more than another big Democratic tax increase ---- Nice thinking Obama, right before the midterms, go ahead suggest raising taxes on 2% of americans who also happen to be responsible for 25% of overal spending---- Tax increases, in a struggling economy, has only proven to extend the joblessness by surpressing the consumer spending required to get this nation back on it's feet!

Cut all fed taxes for all citizens regardless of income by 50% and watch the economy explode. There are two things that are guaranteed to jump start an economy: 1) slashing taxes and 2) slashing spending.

We have to get away from the gluttony of an enormous d federal government. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have.

Embrace tax cuts for all in the US. (Poor, Middle Class and Rich) The Government does not work for just part of the Legal Residents of the US. Members of the US Government need to care for all who vote, not just the few.

Hey liberals, maybe if you could be intellectually honest enough to admit that unabated government spending and lower taxes for 95% of the citizens is unsustainable, we might be able to have some compromise, but until you liberals can be honest, I doubt there is any hope of the two sides getting along. That is why the Tea Party is growing.

NewChange- Wealth Never Created Any Jobs But Lost Them In Hedge-Fund/Toxic-Paper Gambles in The Whole 8 Years That "We The People" increased our Childrens Deficit to give them that Tax Break ... 57% of Everyday Working American Voters Say, Give It Back ....

That Inventor Who Needs A Community Bank Small Business "Start-Up" Loan Is How The USA Creates Jobs.

economicparty- Do You Call GOP President Dwite D.Eisenhower a Liberal? "Ike" Built The Interstate Highway System and that Deficit Spending (+increase in of Govt.) Put America Back To Work, and Gave Us Global Stature etc etc etc

It is the Not Spending Here but Paying to Send Jobs Overseas coupled with the Usury-Gambles that gave us the unemployment, it shall take spending here + Voters Buying "Made in USA" products to get us back on track... who has the balls to speak up?

Hey liberals, maybe if you could be intellectually honest enough to admit that unabated government spending and lower taxes for 95% of the citizens is unsustainable, we might be able to have some compromise, but until you liberals can be honest, I doubt there is any hope of the two sides getting along. That is why the Tea Party is growing.

yeah, that would be like the right becoming intellectually honest and acknowledge the spending cuts already enacted by the WH & congressional dems- or acknowledging closing tax loopholes that reward corporations for offshoring is a viable means of paying for middle class extensions as well eliminating tax shelters.

democrats are being honest and they're showing just how hard it is to rein in federal spending while targeting tax cuts that actually spur job gowth and economic expansion. killing missle defense for western europe, the F-22, medicare advantage, scaling back nuke modernaization, reforming college tutition assistance- are all cost cutting measures that reduce federal spending. all this while providing middle class tax relief, tax relief for those who will actually spend that money or improve their debt situation so that they can again CONSUME (hopelfully this time within their means) and provide incentives and access to needed capital for small & medium businesses and credits & incentives for larger ones that create jobs here in america.

the GOP hasn't laid out anything nearly as comprehensive. if one wants to point to the Roadmap For America, pual ryan's plan- HA! ryan's plan is chocked full of policies either responsible for the economic demise in part or have been previously rejected by the public when attempted by bush43.

think about it, the GOP wanted to borrow more money in order to provide missle defense for a bunch of countries they love to hate. they would have gone ahead with F-22 although virtually every think tank and analysis states the US retains the ability for establishing air superiority in any engagement scenario for at least the next decade or more. they would have gone ahead with warhead modernaization and development of a nuke bunker buster, even as our current stock pile has been certified up to the task of meeting MADD. they would continue Medicare Advantage, their concept of reining in cost under the 2003 prescription drug program, even though it has failed miserably to do so- then couple that with the thought that under ryan's plan- it would have been done away with for vouchers anyway!

The NEW taxes in January will cause even MORE chaos once people see them.

Business, does NOT know what they are yet, because they have NOT written them.

The NEW agency's have NOT told business, what the NEW rate is.

So-called middle class will be hit with the SAME NEW Taxes in January.

Slaughter and the rest are playing a shell game.

more of the same. the same ol'boiler plate BS from the right. what is there to figure out skint? if you're AGI is 200k single, 250k joint, you go back to paying the same tax rates as you did when WJC left office. there's no "NEW" taxes. the drop dead date was written into the legislation by republicans and signed by bush.